I think Volkswagen may be unique among carmakers that started before the dominance of transverse-front-engine/front-wheel drive cars (which I’ll peg around, what, 1980?) in that they have never really made a conventional Syteme Panhard front engine/rear drive car. Pretty much every other major automaker started with such cars, even ones that later became known for other layouts. Well, I suppose Saab also hasn’t, only making FWD cars. Huh. Okay, still, most other carmakers have at least built a front engine/rear drive car at some point in their history. Has Volkswagen ever done so?
That’s actually a trickier question to answer than you might think, for two reasons. Well, two vehicles, I suppose.
Volkswagen started building rear-engine/rear-drive cars from the beginning, and used that as the basis for all of their cars until they acquired NSU and Auto Union in 1969, which began their transition to front engine/front drive cars, which they still stick with to this day.
Sure, they make plenty of all-wheel drive cars now, but they still don’t currently offer an old-school front-engine/rear drive car. But maybe they did? Maybe still do? Let’s consider this:
That’s a Volkswagen LT. It looks kind of like a swole Vanagon, but it’s actually a completely different platform, and was only sold as a commercial vehicle, unlike the Vanagon or other VW Type 2s like the Microbus.
Where the Vanagon and other Type 2s had the traditional VW rear-engine layout, the LT series, which began in 1975, were a cabover design, with the engine between the front seats, which seems to be juuussttt ahead of the front axle, making this a front engine/rear-drive design.
The question here is does a commercial van like this still count? Or are passenger cars a different category, and this doesn’t count? The LT series ended in 2006, but now VW sells the Crafter, also a RWD commercial vehicle, but that’s a re-badged Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
So, I’m not really sure if the LT series counts as a front engine/rear drive car. It is a front engine/rear drive vehicle, though. So, maybe?
Now, there is another VW-badged car – wait a minute, crap, I just thought of another one. Another truck. Let’s get that out of the way, first.
Behold the VW Taro!
If you’re saying hey, that looks like a Toyota Hilux, that’s because it is a Toyota Hilux, just wearing a VW badge. But, it is front engine/rear drive! So does that count? Or does it not because it’s a truck? Or because it’s not really a VW, but a Toyota?
If you’re not okay with the truck part but are okay with the badge-engineering, then this one should meet the requirements. This is the VW 1500:
If that doesn’t look like a Volkswagen, that’s because, again, it’s really not one. It’s a Hillman Avenger. Or a Plymouth Cricket. Or a Dodge Polara, or a Sunbeam 1300 or a Talbot Avenger. This car was actually sold under 13 different names!
And one of those names was the Volkswagen 1500.
This was a product of Volkswagen Argentina after Chrysler sold their Argentinian works to VW in 1980, and the VW 1500 came out in 1990 to 1991. It’s a front engine/rear drive car, no question, but is it really a VW?
So, I think you can see the conundrum: VW has sold at least three (okay, four, with the Crafter) front engine/rear drive cars, but one was a commercial cabover vehicle (though developed actually by VW) and the other two were just Toyotas and Hillman/Talbot/Chryser/Sunbeam/Dodge whatevers.
So what do you think? Does this count? It’s important!
I think that for it to count, it’s got to be something that VW designed and engineered.
When I was in highschool, I went to Europe. I remember stopping and starting with confusion at a VW Taro. I drove a Toyota Pickup at the time, and it was just so bizarre seeing my pickup with VW badges all over it.
Tony Stewart and others have driven front-engine, rear wheel drive VW powered cars for many years.
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I’d argue that the Phaeton and Touareg are both rear drive platforms, just happen to have AWD. Also the first gen Amarok can be had with rear drive only, the manual models are a part time 4×4 as well with drive sent to the rear unless 4wd is engaged.
I think these are both weird too.
The Phaeton, inarguably a pure VW, was available in some markets as Front-Wheel Drive for the first few years (yes, the engine was mounted longitudinally, making this somewhat odd). So maybe you could argue the AWD-versions were Rear-based platforms, but the availability of FWD-only throws a question there.
Then the Touareg was co-developed with Porsche (back before the two were joined), so is it a VW?
Like with all the other examples, still weird. 🙂
Did not know you could get a FWD Phaeton. I thought they shared a platform with the Continental GT, they must be more Audi than Bentley in that case!